Brief description of the plot:
In this chapter, Jurgis recently found out that little Antanas drowned in the street. When he finds this out, he does not cry, but he runs away from what is left of his family. His urge of running away suddenly comes to life, and in an instant he jumps on on of the cars. While he is on the train, he is telling himself not to cry about it, to forget that anything had happened. He realizes that this cruel America is not for women and children. He decided that he was going to think only of himself from now on, and nobody else. He became a tramp, and started to live off the country; as he was doing so, he feels youthful and joy and happiness again. He takes a bath for the first time since he came from Lithuania. No matter how many offers he got from farmers (and they were good ones), he stayed on the road. He liked the fact that he was truly free now, he had endless limits in his life. On the road he met professional tramps, who told him which places to go, and what to do in certain situations. When his money ran low, he worked at harvesting for eighteen hours a day for two weeks, and received a lot of money for it. When he received this money, he went to a saloon, where he met a girl and went upstairs and most probably did some things with her. When Jurgis goes to a Russian's home, he is welcomed with open arms. He sees a child there and is reminded of Antanas. Even though he has held it for this long, he soon starts sobbing, and runs out of the house. The ghosts of his past never seem to go away.
Characters in the Chapter:
Jurgis, Marija, Antanas, Ona
Notable passages (including page number):
"He stood and watched it, and all at once...and swung himself on to one of the cars." (225)
"Here he sat, and when the train started again...cursing with rage, and pounded it down." (225-226)
"This was no world for women and children, and the sooner they got out of it the better for them." (226)
"He snuffed it, and it made his heart beat wildly--he was out in the country again! He was going to live in the country!" (226)
"That was his answer...get all that he gave, all the time." (228)
"Jurgis was beginning to think of himself nowadays." (229)
"But Jurgis was not staying...of hope without limit." (231)
"If there were more of them on hand...according to the stern system of nature." (232)
"It was the ghost that would not down...sometimes it fairly drove him to drink." (234)
"...and the wild beast rose up within him and screamed, as it has screamed in the jungle from the dawn of time." (233)
Brief description of the plot:
In this chapter, Jurgis recently found out that little Antanas drowned in the street. When he finds this out, he does not cry, but he runs away from what is left of his family. His urge of running away suddenly comes to life, and in an instant he jumps on on of the cars. While he is on the train, he is telling himself not to cry about it, to forget that anything had happened. He realizes that this cruel America is not for women and children. He decided that he was going to think only of himself from now on, and nobody else. He became a tramp, and started to live off the country; as he was doing so, he feels youthful and joy and happiness again. He takes a bath for the first time since he came from Lithuania. No matter how many offers he got from farmers (and they were good ones), he stayed on the road. He liked the fact that he was truly free now, he had endless limits in his life. On the road he met professional tramps, who told him which places to go, and what to do in certain situations. When his money ran low, he worked at harvesting for eighteen hours a day for two weeks, and received a lot of money for it. When he received this money, he went to a saloon, where he met a girl and went upstairs and most probably did some things with her. When Jurgis goes to a Russian's home, he is welcomed with open arms. He sees a child there and is reminded of Antanas. Even though he has held it for this long, he soon starts sobbing, and runs out of the house. The ghosts of his past never seem to go away.
Characters in the Chapter:
Jurgis, Marija, Antanas, Ona
Notable passages (including page number):
"He stood and watched it, and all at once...and swung himself on to one of the cars." (225)
"Here he sat, and when the train started again...cursing with rage, and pounded it down." (225-226)
"This was no world for women and children, and the sooner they got out of it the better for them." (226)
"He snuffed it, and it made his heart beat wildly--he was out in the country again! He was going to live in the country!" (226)
"That was his answer...get all that he gave, all the time." (228)
"Jurgis was beginning to think of himself nowadays." (229)
"But Jurgis was not staying...of hope without limit." (231)
"If there were more of them on hand...according to the stern system of nature." (232)
"It was the ghost that would not down...sometimes it fairly drove him to drink." (234)
"...and the wild beast rose up within him and screamed, as it has screamed in the jungle from the dawn of time." (233)